Animal Antics
by aomurasakiai
Summary: [{(COMPLETE)}] Request is sticking Karupin in and having Kaidoh play with him… somehow Inui snuck in too. As well as Echizen.


**Disclaimers**: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No money being made.  
**Author**: aomurasakiai  
**Title**: Animal Antics  
**Warnings**: Possible OOC, Slight Fluff/Shounen Ai  
**Pairings**: Slight InuKai?  
**Spoilers**: None  
**Rating**: G  
**Special Thanks**: Deb for the beta.  
**Note**: To scandalouschib for sending me PoT songs! snugs and hugs Request is sticking Karupin in and having Kaidoh play with him… somehow Inui snuck in too. As well as Echizen.

It was late in the evening and Kaidoh had finished his 10km run. Wiping his brow with the yellow towel around his neck, he began stretching his tight muscles. Though it felt a bit painful, it gave him time to catch his breath and cool down. He still had to do 150 push-ups before heading home for dinner so once he'd stretched enough, he got into position and got started.

"…Eight-six…eighty-seven…eighty-ei--" Kaidoh stopped abruptly when he felt something warm settle on his back. Turning his head, he caught sight of a bushy brown tail.

"Nyaow!" The second-year sighed. It seemed that Echizen's cat was always able to find him whenever he was exercising.

"Sorry, but you'll have to wait until I'm finished," he told Karupin before he continued his push-ups. Unlike the previous times, the white and brown cat stayed still and just enjoyed the ride as Kaidoh moved up and down. With the added weight, there was also a slight pressure on his upper arms and the second-year teen felt as though he was working harder. He must ask Inui-senpai to see if it was a safe method to use before trying it in the future.

Quickly finishing his set, Kaidoh sat up slowly and Karupin slid off his shirt to land on his feet.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, rubbing the white fur on the cat's head. "Wouldn't that first-year be worried about you?"

"Nyanaow," Karupin answered. Kaidoh smiled softly before reaching for a blade of grass. Clicking his tongue, he moved it back and forth, teasing the other.

"Hora, hora…" The bandana-clad teen moved the green stem out of the cat's reach when he tried to pounce on it. "Hora… hora, ganbare…" His smile grew wider as he continued to play with Echizen's cat. He briefly wondered if he could get a pet someday. But then again if the others found out, he'd never live it down…

"Seems like you have a soft spot for cats, Kaidoh."

The blade of grass froze and Karupin caught it in his paws. Blue-green eyes looked up curiously at the young teen that usually didn't allow him to catch it so easily only to see the other's petrified face.

"This is certainly… 'ii data'," Kaidoh heard before the scritch-scritch sound followed. Turning around, he saw Inui-senpai writing in the green notebook. Something this personal was being written in that notebook?! The notebook the third-year took everywhere with him and even… _set down_ when he was practicing on the courts?!?! Kaidoh's dread peaked as the other finished scribbling everything down.

"It is getting rather late," Inui said as he flipped his notebook closed. "Take care, Kaidoh." Putting his hand up in a goodbye gesture, the bespectacled teen began to walk off. The bandana-clad teen blinked in shock at his senpai's retreating back. Karupin meowed his confusion down by the ground and only then did that snap Kaidoh out of it. Acting on impulse, he reached out to grab Inui's shoulder.

"Senpai! You… the notebook… you can't!"

"I can't… what?" the third-year asked, pushing up his glasses.

"You can't tell anyone! No one! Do you understand me?" Kaidoh told the older teen, balling the other's shirt in his fists.

"You're not acting like yourself, Kaidoh," Inui said, a hint of surprise in his voice. Letting go of the other, Kaidoh's imagination ran wild as he thought of all the possibilities that might happen if the others found out about his… soft spot for animals. Clutching his head, the person he worried most about was Momoshiro; the other second-year would no doubt have something to blackmail him with the rest of his life. Seeming to sense the teen's distress, Karupin placed his paw on Kaidoh's muscular leg.

"Don't worry, Kaidoh. No one else will find out," he vaguely heard Inui-senpai reassure him. The said teen turned to glare at the other.

"And you're so sure because…?"

"I am 98 percent positive with a 2 percent chance of something unlikely occurring."

"That doesn't even make sense, Inui-senpai," Kaidoh said, his anger diminishing in spite of everything.

"Aa… I suppose it doesn't." Pushing up his glasses again, he placed a hand on the shorter teen's shoulder. "I swear this will remain confidential between us as is everything else I know about you. I don't let you know what I know about the others, do I?" Kaidoh thought about that… Inui-senpai did seem trustworthy, probably enough to keep this secret.

"Just be sure you don't let anything slip or else!" Kaidoh hissed, shrugging the other's hand off.

"That is a promise," Inui said, smiling.

"Karupin! Where are you?" The cat perked up at the sound of his owner's voice and ran off. Ryoma appeared just in time to catch him as he hopped into his arms.

"Where have you been, Karupin?" Ryoma asked before looking up at his senpais who stared back at him. During the moment of silence between the three, the first-year blinked at the other two's rather close proximity… and the shocked expression on the bandana-clad teen's face. Turning around, he murmured "mada mada dane" before leaving the two alone.

"Typical Echizen," Inui remarked. "I doubt he suspects anything though." Kaidoh hissed.

"I'm going home, senpai."

"Aa. I'll see you, Kaidoh."

"Right." And he took off down the road, jogging lightly. Inui watched until the other was out of sight before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small digital camera belonging to Fuji. He had asked Inui to transfer the pictures onto his computer temporarily since his own had been attacked by a virus earlier that day. Inui was glad to help.

Of course, Fuji didn't have to know about the extra pictures he had taken that day.

Owari


End file.
